How To Make Juice Without A Juicer

We’ve always been into juicing. It’s one of the things that my wife likes to do. She’s a vegetarian, so she loves to juice. And I’m a big health freak - well, when I feel like being it - Demetrious Johnson

Everywhere you look, it seems like the whole world is going crazy about, and for, juice and has embraced the idea of juicing like it was a long-lost sibling who has finally returned to the loving embrace of their family.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you are, the gym, the health-food store, or your local coffee shop, everyone is talking about the benefits of juicing and how good they’re feeling now that they’ve signed on the dotted line and joined the ever-growing legions of its fans. 

While you’re probably eager to try juicing for yourself if you don’t have a juicer to make your juice with, it can seem like a huge step to make, especially if a juicer isn’t high on your list of financial priorities.

But just because you don’t own a juicer, or you can’t see one taking pride of place in your kitchen for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t mean that you can't make juice or join the increasing numbers of juicers that you know.

It is possible, and in fact, it’s incredibly easy, to make juice without a juicer and we’re going to explain how you can start juicing with a normal-sized strainer, a fine mesh strainer, and a blender. 

Preparation

One of the more appealing aspects of juicing is the way that it welcomes and encourages its practitioners to employ as many different types of fruits and vegetables as possible.

The more you use, and combine, the healthier and more nutritious, and filling your juice is going to be. So, when you choose the ingredients that you’re going to use for your juice, go wild and let your imagination guide you. 

However, we would recommend that you attempt to evenly balance your chosen ingredients, and use as many fresh (and if possible, organic) green vegetables as you possibly can.

Personally, we’ve found that mixing spinach, kale, broccoli, pineapple, and strawberry, with an added dash of lime for taste works best, but as we’ve already said, the choice of ingredients is entirely up to you. 

Cleaning

Before you start preparing your juice, you’re going to want to make sure that all of the fruit and vegetables that you’re using to make it are as clean as they possibly can be.

The easiest way to clean your fruit and vegetables thoroughly is by putting them in a large pan, or similarly sized container and adding enough water to completely cover them.

If you have access to and can use filtered water it’s a good idea to use it instead of tap water, but if you don’t, it isn’t a problem and tap water will do just fine. 

Prepare, peel and slice and dice your fruit and then add it to the same pan as your vegetables and mix your fruit and green vegetables together and add the water.

Gently stir the vegetables and fruit to loosen any debris, such as soil particles, that might have wormed its way between the leaves of your green vegetables and leave everything to soak for a couple of minutes, which should allow enough time for the debris to settle on the bottom of the pan. 

The Little Extras

It may sound crazy, but you’re going to need some water to make your juice with.

So, the first ingredient that needs to go in your (already clean) blender, is three tablespoons of (filtered if you have it, but don’t worry if you don’t) water, and if you’re partial to it, a little freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice - half to a full teaspoon (according to taste) is enough as any more might make your juice a little too sour to enjoy. 

Blending

Pour your pan of ingredients through the strainer, and separate the fruit and green vegetables. Put the vegetables in the blender first, as they’ll only need a quick blitz at full speed on your blender to reduce them enough to add your fruit.  

Twenty to thirty seconds should be more than enough to pulp them thoroughly, and when they’re ready it’s time to add your other ingredients to the blender.

As soon as the fruit and pulped vegetables are in your blender, put the lid on and securely fasten it. Then turn your blender up to its highest setting and turn it on for two minutes or until you’re completely satisfied that its contents have been totally blended.

This is where we usually start to get really excited, as we know that it’s almost juice time, and it’s at this point that we have, on a couple of occasions, let our nerves get the better of us and have fallen at the final hurdle.

So take a deep breath and calm down, you’re almost at the gates of juice heaven. 

The Juice 

Make sure you have a sufficiently sized receptacle (and by that, we mean glass or cup ready) and place your fine mesh strainer over the top of it.  

Carefully remove the glass / plastic container with all of your pulped fruits and vegetables in it from the blender and slowly and carefully start to pour it through the fine mesh strainer. Be patient, as it may take a couple of minutes for all of the juice to filter through the strainer and the pulp that the blending process left behind.

Put your blender to one side, empty the fine mesh strainer into the food recycling and take a minute to savor the spectacle of your own homemade juice that you didn’t need a juicer to make.

And whenever you’re ready, you can start drinking and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Congratulations, you’ve just joined the juicing world and you’ll soon start to understand exactly what your friends were talking about when they were talking about how much better, healthier, and more active they felt after they started juicing.

One last piece of advice. As much as you might be tempted to try and store your juice in the fridge to drink later, don’t do it.

Because you’ve made your juice in a blender, as soon as it’s ready, it’ll be at the point of maximum oxygenation, and even though it might still be a little warm from the blending process, there’s no better time to drink it. So as soon as it’s ready, raise your glass and enjoy your juice. You earned it.